Local news has never been more important than it is right now,” Isaacs said in a statement. “I’m honored to be joining the talented staff at Boston 25. I’m excited about evolving Boston 25′s innovative news product so that we are there whenever and wherever our viewers need us.”
Channel 10 is regularly one of the top-rated NBC affiliates in the country.
Isaacs’ replacement hasn’t been named, but applications are likely to pour in from all over the country. Like newspapers, TV news is changing rapidly, but 10 still has good bones with its combination of well-known anchors and talented reporters like Brian Crandall, Tamara Sacharczyk, and Emily Volz.
One of the only downsides in the job is that Channel 10 is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, whose overtly right-wing views can be a distraction from its generally apolitical local news product.
Isaacs will immediately have a lot on his plate when he gets to Boston. Channel 25 has faced an exodus of talent in recent months, and morale at the station has been low.
Morning anchor Elizabeth Hopkins abruptly left without any public statement in April. Then evening anchor Vanessa Welch, who announced she would take a job outside of media in May. All told, at least 13 staffers — including reporters, producers, salespeople, and a news director — have left the station since the start of the year, according to interviews and workers’ LinkedIn profiles. Those exits came on top of a steady trickle of departures stretching back years.
Eight current and former employees who spoke to the Globe cited a confluence of factors driving people out, including issues with the quality of the station’s content, overwhelming workloads, pay cuts, layoffs, and uncertainty over whether its private equity owners will keep the lights on. Most spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of retribution.
“It was not a great atmosphere,” said David Rothstein, a former news assignment editor at Boston 25 who was laid off in 2021. “I was planning to quit every day.”
In other TV news: Rhode Island PBS and The Public’s Radio recently merged, and its joint board announced yesterday that Pam Johnston has been named the new president and CEO. Johnston recently stepped down as general manager for news at Boston’s public television station WGBH.
Johnston will take on the roles formerly held by David Piccerelli, who served as president of Rhode Island PBS, and Torey Malatia, who was the president, CEO, and general manager of The Public’s Radio. Piccerelli and Malatia served as co-CEOs in the months immediately after the merger was approved.
Johnston began as general manager in 2020 after more than eight years at GBH’s investigative documentary series “Frontline,” where she had served as senior director of strategy and audience. Johnston did not say whether she had a new job lined up.
Johnston and GBH declined Globe requests for comment, but in a press release sent Tuesday, she said, “My passion for public media’s mission and service to our local community has never been stronger.”
“At a time when trust in the media is eroding and societal gaps are widening, public media can play a critical role in fostering understanding, goodwill, and connection,” she said in the statement. “I believe that here in Rhode Island we have the team, talent, and resources to redefine the very best of what public media can be.”
This story has been updated to include previous reporting from Aidan Ryan of the Boston Globe.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
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Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.